Never Say Never
by ApekshaStar
Summary: Niklaus is heartbroken when he loses his eldest brother to the plague & finds comfort in a blonde,who is like no other woman he has ever met.He loses his heart to her and they fall in love.But he loses her after he is turned into a vampire and is forced to live without her.Now,after 1000 years,he finds her.But does she recognize him, & most importantly,is she willing to accept him?
1. Nothing But Ill Luck

_**Hey guys! I just came up with this story and have done a lot of research on it! This is when Klaus is still human. However, there is a little change. Elijah, Klaus, Kol and Rebekah are already born and Ester is pregnant with Henrick! And read this VERY carefully! This gives us an idea about Klaus's life and his siblings.**_

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Niklaus headed towards the medical tent, stretching his legs, glad to get a break from rowing. He had been rowing from the past two hours, and it had been a great strain on his 16 year old self. The people of his village – or atleast who were left alive after the plague – had built the most massive ship ever known, determined to seek their fortunes in a new land. And to their luck, just when they had been running low on supplies, they had come across another ship which was also fleeing its homeland to escape the plague. The people on that boat claimed that they were from the cold mountains of the north. As far as Niklaus knew, the northerners had too many people to accommodate on their ship and there was not enough space whereas their ship had enough space to accommodate atleast another hundred. The northern tribe had lots of fresh supplies whereas they did not. Therefore, they would be sheltering a few northern tribes in exchange of fresh supplies.

Fortunately, many of them who had come over to their ship were strong, healthy young men, one of whom had offered to take Niklaus's place in the rowing deck for him. Niklaus had gratefully accepted his help and was now off to see his elder brother Renald, who was a little sick from the plague and was currently in the infirmary, where all the other sick people were. Niklaus wanted to speak to his brother. He always felt light and happy after having a talk with him. And Renald always managed to make him laugh. Even after Mikeal's abusing. He knew he was breaking the rules by visiting Renald, but this time, Niklaus did not care. He knew that Mikeal would beat him up, but either way, he always found a reason to abuse him, pointless reasons that too. So why not give him a genuine reason this time. Anyways, he need not even know about it. There would be no one in the ward as all of them were afraid of catching the disease.

Mikeal was very short-tempered. Even more than usual nowadays. And it did not help his temper that Ester was pregnant and was due in five months. Mikeal wanted to secure a future for his family in the 'New World' as they called it. Niklaus could understand that. He could understand the concern for his family, but what he could _**not**_ understand was what he had to do with the plague and the ill fortunes it had brought. When the plague had struck, Mikeal had blamed him for it and had called him a worthless son and a worthless man. Just an hour ago, Mikeal had blamed _**him **_for their slow progress on the sea. He had said, "Work faster, _boy. _Work those puny arms of your faster! If not for you and your worthless work, we would have reached the New World ages ago!" How in the world was _he_ responsible for their rate of progress?

Niklaus shook his head fiercely, trying to rid himself of his miserable thoughts. He was going to see Renald. It would not do to have such thoughts. As he neared the nursing ward, he took out the sketch he had done for Renald. It was a sketch of the sea on a wild, stormy day – fierce, angry and untameable. As he neared the nursing ward, he saw someone moving towards it. Niklaus stopped in mid-stride and hid behind a barrel of mead. He peeped out and squinted, the dark making it difficult for him to see. From the faint light of the stars, he could make out a slim figure in a grey dress. The woman had a piece of cloth wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. He could just make out the blonde hair of the woman in the torchlight at the entrance of the medical ward before she disappeared inside it.

'Who is this woman?' he thought. 'And why is she in the nursing ward. I have never seen her in my life. The only blondes in our village are Mother and Bekah. So who is this woman? Maybe she is from the boat which has fled from the North. That explains why she doesn't know the rules that no one other than the nurses are allowed inside the ward.' He followed her silently into the ward and observed her from the shadows. She seemed to be checking if all the patients had everything that was necessary and were comfortable. As she neared Renald's bed, she sat down on the bed next to him, facing Renald with her back to Niklaus. She held his wrists in her hand, probably checking for blood flow. He watched as she slowly folded his hands on his chest, smoothed out his hair and gently caressed his face. She then slowly bent down to kiss his forehead and whispered so softly that he could barely hear it, "Goodbye brother. Lie peacefully in your Eternal Sleep knowing that you shall be terribly missed and that someone prays for you. You shall forevermore be present in my prayers. Rest well, brother. I go now to seek your family to inform them of their loss."

Niklaus felt his knees giving out. A loud thud emanated as he fell to the floor on his knees, his head buried in his hand, sobbing uncontrollably. His sketch fell to the floor from his hands. The woman whirled around. He was sobbing, "No! No Renald...No..."

His brother could not be dead. No. He could not be dead. He felt a soft hand on his arm. He looked up into the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. Those eyes were filled with concern. "Do you know him?" she asked softly. He just nodded, still sobbing uncontrollably. "Is he your brother?" she questioned. He looked at her, surprised. She shrugged. "You both resemble each other quite a lot."

At this, Niklaus looked very confused. He looked _nothing _likeRenald. In fact, he looked _nothing_ like any of his siblings. He had sandy coloured brown-blonde hair while the rest of them were brunettes. Except for Rebekah, who was a natural blonde like Ester. All had dark-coloured eyes, whereas he had startling blue eyes as blue as the ocean and Rebekah had greyish-green eyes. He had deep dimples, none of the rest of them did. What did this girl mean? She just shrugged again. "You have the same serenity, severity, determination, love and loyalty..." she trailed off. At this mention of the traits of his now dead brother, Niklaus just let himself fall to the floor, crouching into a ball. The girl, who seemed around his age, slowly cradled his head into her lap, running her hand through his hair softly, comforting him. "Sshhh!All will be well..." she whispered softly to him. They lay there, until they heard an angry voice shouting, "_**Niklaus!**_ Are you here, _boy_? How many times have I told you not to come here!"

Niklaus pushed himself off the girl's lap and looked over his shoulder to see Mikeal emerge from the doorway. "Father..." The young boy's voice cracked, his grief consuming his ability to speak. "Renald...Renald...Father, Renald..." Mikeal walked over to Renald and presses two fingers against his son's neck, searching for pulse. Finding none, he slowly turned, walked up to Niklaus and slapped the young boy across his face with the back of his hand! "I _**told **_you not to come here boy! I _**told **_you not to visit Renald! You are _**NOTHING **_but ill luck! You should have stayed away from him, _boy_. Now look what you have done. You have killed your own brother!"

Saying so, Mikeal drew his sword and hit the sobbing figure of Niklaus with the flat of his sword. Niklaus bit his lips, trying to hold in his pain. It took all he had in him not to cry out. He was already mentally depressed. He would not be able to control his screams as he did usually. He buried his head into his arms, waiting for the abuse to end. Mikeal had hardly hit Klaus more than a few times when suddenly, '_**CLANG! '**_

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_**Hey guys! I know, I know...I am evil...Cliffhanger in the first chapter! But I hope you guys like it...Review and let me know how it is! Love you guys!**_


	2. He Likes The Sound Of Your Laughter

_**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long. Hope you like it! There is more to come! And please read my new Time Travel story-Mean But Mine...**_

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Niklaus peeped up and saw a sword blocking Mikeal's sword and preventing him from hitting Niklaus. Shocked, he followed his gaze upwards to see the blonde girl wielding the sword. She manoeuvred the sword to lock the hilt of her sword with the hilt of Mikeal's sword. "Now what kind of a man are you?" she whispered. "You would beat your own son like a dog while your other son is lying dead not a few feet away from you? Fie on you."

Mikeal just snarled, trying to push off the girl, but to his surprise, she held him in check. She was too strong. "Now how is it this one's fault if his brother is dead? Coward. Just because you cannot blame it on anyone, you blame it on him. Shame on you." She whispered.

Mikeal snarled, "This is family business. You shall have no part in it." The girl pulled back and set Mikeal free and shrugged. "That may be so. But it always a warrior's code of honour to stop injustice and that's what I did. I lived by my honour code. You were unnecessarily applying violence on this innocent one for no fault of his and most importantly, how can you fight an unarmed man. Don't you have any morals?" "Now don't you speak to me about morals _girl_!" Mikeal said, his voice rising.

The girl turned as she heard someone come into the room. It was Ester. The girl suddenly stiffened and her eyes narrowed in recognition. She slightly bowed her head in respect and whispered, "Greetings, Wise One." She then turned back to Mikeal. "Now if what your mate thinks is right, we shall be reaching the New World in a matter of few hours." Saying so, she sheathed her sword.

Ester smiled, impressed. This one had the talent of mind-reading. "You are right, _pup_."

The girl threw her head back and laughed, the peals of sound beautiful to hear. Ester smiled hearing it. She felt the baby in her womb kick. Her eyes widened. It was the first time it had kicked. Her hands immediately went to rest on her stomach. "He kicked. He kicked when you laughed." Ester whispered in awe. The girl bent down and touched Ester's large stomach and giggled. The baby kicked again. Ester's eyes widened. "He likes the sound of your laughter." She whispered, stunned.

The girl looked up. "Yes. He does and he tells me that he loves it when you sing to him and when his brother Niklaus speaks to him when you are asleep." Niklaus's head snapped to look at the girl. Ester was surprised. She didn't know Niklaus cared so much for his brother. His _half-brother, _she reminded herself. She wished that she hadn't done that mistake. Because of her _one_ mistake, Niklaus had been born and she had been forced to ignore him. Already, his looks were too different. And if she started paying Niklaus attention, Mikeal would surely get to know that Niklaus was a bastard son.

"_And,_" Caroline continued. "You would do well not to inform anyone about your son's death. Your tribe may be willing to keep his body on board but the instance my tribe gets to know about this, they will insist upon throwing the body overboard. We have a superstition that dead bodies bring bad luck. Even my Alpha and I, who believe differently, will not be able to do anything about it."

The girl helped Niklaus off the ground and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder, supporting him. She turned to look at Ester. "Relations are not bound by blood." She said softly. "Niklaus is one of the purest minds I have ever met. Value him before it's too late. I go now to tend to his wounds. My name is Caroline, by the way. Caroline Vigdís. I now take your leave, Wicca follower."

Ester smiled as Caroline Vigdís walked away with Niklaus. Vigdís meant 'the Battle Goddess'. She must be really brave if she was given that title. Because Ester knew that titles were not something lightly taken among the brave men of the North, and if the _girl_ had got such a title, then she must be respected even among men. She liked Caroline. Caroline was the proof that woman a need not be a weak defenceless creature and Ester felt that women were losing their respect in the society. With women like Caroline, that would soon stop and once more, women would come to be respected.

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Caroline helped Niklaus to the cabin which was separately reserved for her. She helped him sleep on her bed face forward so that she could nurse his wounded back and took off his shirt. She took a flask and poured a little of its contents into a small bowl. "What is it?" Niklaus asked, his voice broken. Caroline smiled and said, "It is a mixture of a healing plant with water. We warriors always have it with us just in case we or our comrades get hurt." Saying so, she dipped a piece of cloth into the water and started dabbing it on his wounds.

Tears sprung in Niklaus's eyes. "Sorry. I did not thank you before. Thank you for coming to my aid. Though I do not think it was wise of you to anger Mikeal. He can cause you harm." he whispered. Caroline threw her head back and laughed. Niklaus smiled at the sound. "Don't worry. I am not worried. No one has been able to hurt me until now and I do not think anyone will be able to either." she said.

"You are a warrior?" he enquired. "Yes." She answered.

"And the men _let_ you become one?" he asked, horrified. She smiled and said, "In our tribe, men have no rights over what women choose to do with their lives. Though yes, I am the only woman warrior. The other women in our army are mostly archers or hunters. I am the only one who goes out with the men to fight wars. In fact, I am second-in-command after my Alpha. He is always the first-in-command."

"You must be really good then." he asked her.

"I don't judge, but the others tell me I'm pretty good." she answered.

"Can you teach me the art of warfare of your tribe?" he asked her.

Caroline smiled. "Yes, but I need to ask the Alpha his permission. Only if he grants permission will I be able to do so to an outsider.. There you go. All done. Just don't wear your shirt for another hour or so. It needs to dry." Niklaus sat up and nodded. "Okay. But if it is not too much, will you come to the deck with me?" he asked, offering her his hand.

Caroline nodded and slipped her hand into his and they walked upto the deck, leaned against the riling and let the cool breeze tickle their faces. "Why do you let him beat you like that?" she asked him. "I am sure you are capable enough to hold your own against him. So why?" Niklaus shrugged. "He has been beating me ever since I can remember. I have learnt it the hard way that if you shut up when he is beating, it'll be less painful. Open your mouth, and it becomes worse. And he is my father. I could never speak against him. He has all the rights to do anything to me. What are your parents like? I have never visited North before."

Caroline's eyes bored into him and she said softly, "I don't know. They died in a battle just a year after I was born." Niklaus averted his eyes. "Oh! Sorry. I didn't know."

Caroline smiled. "Of course you didn't. That's why you asked. But it's okay. The Alpha took me in as a baby and raised me. He is unmarried you know. Some say he fell in love with a woman who already belonged to another man. So he refused to marry and bear children."

Niklaus just looked at her and said, "Thank you once again for helping me. I haven't had anyone to talk to for a long time. You can call me Nik. That's what the ones close to me call me." Caroline grinned, "Are you suggesting I become close to you, Nik?" she asked in a mocking tune.

Nik blushed. "Of course not. I just meant that I hope we become friends. I would greatly value your friendship." Caroline smiled. "I hope to see you soon."

"Are you leaving?" Nik asked, alarmed. "Did I offend you in any form?"

Caroline shook her head. "Of course not. You were honest with me. How can I ever be offended? I just wanted to go to my Alpha who is captaining the other ship and ask him his permission to teach you our swordsmanship." Niklaus smiled, "Thank you. Let me escort you to the rowing boats. "

Caroline shook her head. "I shall be swimming." Nik looked horrified. "The water is too rough and cold for a-" "A lady?" she interrupted him with a raised eyebrow.

Niklaus smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. I have come to understand that you are no helpless lady. I just wanted to say that the water is too rough and cold for anyone."

Caroline pointed to the water below them and said, "Look. Can you see them? They are our tribe's men who are swimming across to the other ship. It is normal for us. We are taught to swim since we are but babes and we can swim even in the worst storm. _And _it is not so cold for us. After all we are from the North." Niklaus smiled. "You are like a rebel goddess."

"Maybe that's why they call me Vigdís." Saying so, she pulled off the long cloak to reveal her wearing a pair of pants and a tunic and a leather belt tied around her waist. She was wearing a man's attire, and not a grey dress as Klaus had first assumed. He had mistaken her long cloak for her dress.

She climbed the railing backwards so that she was not facing the water, but the deck. And with a final grin at Klaus, she opened her arms and just let herself fall backwards into the huge churning ocean.

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_**Hey! Hope you liked it! Please leave a review! Doesn't matter if its too short! Please! Just let me know how it was so that I know that what I am doing is right! And suggestions are always welcome!**_


	3. The Alpha

_**Hey guys! Sorry for the late updates! Promise, I'll try to update as soon as possible.**_

_**RECAP: Caroline helps Nik away from Mikeal and applies medicine on his wounds. Nik asks Caroline to teach him her tribe's warfare and Caroline decides to seek permission of the Alpha by swimming to the other ship!**_

_**And thank you for your review justine!**_

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Caroline smiled as she felt the comforting '_whoosh_' of air in her ears. Just before she entered the water, she twisted her body to look down at the water, her arms joined and outstretched in front of her. She cleanly cut through the water and went several feet underwater due to the force and height of her fall.

She looked around herself in the water. It was so peaceful that she felt compelled to stay there for a few minutes. She stood there, still, except for her legs which were kicking slowly to keep her from travelling further down into sea and drowning. She turned stiff as she saw a dolphin swimming towards her. 'By Odin's missing eye! How could I be so stupid?' she cursed herself. The dolphins of the sea were known to be very aggressive.

As the dolphin approached her, she could see that it was a very old one. As it came near her, it stopped next to her and just gazed at her with its wise, serene eyes. Then, it just swam away. Caroline thanked all the gods known and unknown. The age would be of no matter if the dolphin had decided to attack. In her relief, Caroline had failed to notice a younger dolphin behind the old one.

She recoiled in shock as it swam up to her stealthily and butted its snout against her shoulder. She looked on it in shock as it bounded around her, as if excited to play. Caroline couldn't help but smile. It seemed like in _every_ species, there was always one who broke all the rules and went against its own nature. It was the sea dolphins' nature to be ill-tempered, aggressive and murderous, but there one was, right in front of her – a sea dolphin who wanted to _play_.

Cautiously, she stretched out her hand hesitantly, to pat the dolphin. It turned to look at her with wide eyes. She turned stiffened, her hand still stretched out above its head. Suddenly, it jerked its head up and made contact with Caroline's hand and nuzzled against it.

Caroline giggled. It was just so _cute_. Suddenly, she saw a large shoal of fish swimming towards them. It swam through them, not even bothering to deter their route. But they all scattered as soon as the dolphin jerked its head and swallowed a fish.

Then, the dolphin swam around her in circles so fast that it made her dizzy. She started laughing, but immediately stopped as she realized that she had just lost most of her air supply. Her eyes widened in fear. She was several feet below the surface and had very less air supply. Trying not to panic, she started to swim towards the surface.

The dolphin followed her and again butted its snout against her shoulders and swam around her in circles. Her eyes widened. Was it possible? Her Alpha was the only one she had ever heard of who had ridden a dolphin. Well, there was only one way to find out. Determined to save herself, she caught hold of the fin on the dolphin's back and braced herself. She knew that her chances were slim of making it back to the surface all by herself.

She grinned in delight as the dolphin swam upward, its tail lashing back and forth powerfully. She frowned as she realized that it was swimming nearly vertically to the surface. '_Oh God ! It was about to jump!_ '_She_ shut her eyes tightly, her lungs burning for air and waited for the jump to break the surface.

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Niklaus was worried. Several minutes had passed by and she hadn't surfaced. Panicking, he ran around the deck shouting "Help! Man overboard! Help! "

A dozen men came running onto the deck. Niklaus recognized them to be from the Northern Tribe. He ran to them, panting, and gripped a man's arms and said, "Caroline. It's Caroline. She jumped off the deck." The men visibly relaxed. The man whom Niklaus was gripping called out to everyone, "No reason to panic, everyone. It's just Vigdís."

The men relaxed and a few even laughed. Niklaus saw Mikeal and Ester come out onto the deck. "What is it?" Mikeal asked, approaching them. Niklaus just ignored them and whispered urgently to the man, "No. You don't understand. She has been underwater for a long time. Too long."

The man just laughed and patted Niklaus on the back, "Don't you worry son. Vigdís is one of the best swimmers in our tribe. In fact, she is the best next to our Alpha."

Niklaus, now frustrated, screamed at the top of his lungs, "YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND! She has been underwater for more than TEN MINUTES! And this is not freshwater we are talking about, this is _saltwater_!"

The man's eyes widened in shock and fear. Everyone knew that one cannot hold one's breath in sea water for as long as one could in freshwater. He pulled out a piece of parchment and coal from his pouch that hung on his waist, scribbled something and let out a piercing whistle. Everyone watched as a hawk flew over to them from the Northern Tribe's ship which was sailing parallel to them.

The man rolled the parchment and put it into a cylindrical hollow container made of metal which was tied to its claws. The bird took off. The man turned back to the rest of them and said, "I have informed the Alpha about Vigdís."

Within a few minutes, the hawk came back and the man popped open the cylinder's lid and took out the parchment. His eyes widened as he read the message. He turned to his men and whispered, "The Alpha himself shall be entering the water." At this, all men ran to the railings and leaned against it, craning their necks to see what was happening on the ship that was travelling parallel to them.

Niklaus, followed by Mikeal and Ester, too went to look along with the other men. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a clear view. He saw as a man came striding across the deck and tore off his shirt, preparing himself to enter the water. "The Alpha..." the man next to him whispered.

He saw another man stopping the Alpha in his tracks, probably trying to dissuade him from entering the water. Niklaus winced as the Alpha roared at the man in anger. His shout could be heard till **_their _**ship! The man next to him shook his head in despair and whispered, "Not good. **_So _**not good. in all my years, I have **_never _** heard the Alpha raise his voice like that."

"Then how does he get people to obey him?" Niklaus asked, whispering. The man gave him a strange look and scoffed, "Because he doesn't need to. People respect him too much to go against him. He is the most pure hearted man I have ever seen. And anyway, he is not one to shout and get frustrated. He has the most brilliant mind and his plans **_never_** fail. Not to mention that he is a deadly warrior. He moves like a cat, lithe and graceful; his attacks are steady but sure. My name is Niál by the way."

Niklaus turned back to look at the Alpha. Even from the distance, he could see that the Alpha was a very strong, well-built man. His long golden blonde hair glowed in the tender rays of the rising sun as he climbed onto the railing of the ship, ready to jump into the water.

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"Aaargh!" Caroline screamed in exhilaration as they broke through the surface. Her body flew behind her as the dolphin cut through the air. Caroline held onto the dolphin's fin for dear life as her body flew in the air alongside the dolphin's body, making it as if she were flying. Caroline couldn't stop screaming as adrenalin rushed through her as they cut through the air. She quickly took another gulp of air before the dolphin entered the water and her world was plunged into peaceful darkness once more, now slightly tinged orange with the sunrise.

* * *

The decks of both the ships were stunned into silence when suddenly, Caroline came flying out of the water, screaming and hanging on to a dolphin. The Northern Tribe ship broke into whooping and cheering as Caroline entered the water again. The Northern Tribals next to Nik too started cheering loudly, thumping each other on the back with joy. Niál thumped Nik on the back and clapping and said, "I have never in my life seen anyone ride a dolphin like that! Our Alpha is the only we know of who has ridden a dolphin, and believe me, even he hadn't made his dolphin jump like that! I saw it myself you see, so I would know."

The cheering grew louder as a screaming Caroline again emerged from the water on her dolphin and this time, the beast had jumped so high that it nearly reached the level of the ship's deck surface. Now, Klaus could clearly see Caroline's face. It was euphoric. She was clearly enjoying herself. Then the dolphin began its descent by giving more slope to it so that they wouldn't be completely submerged in water when they hit it.

For a second, they both disappeared under the surface, before Caroline broke the surface, her face glowing and the dolphin came up right next to her. A rope ladder was thrown down the Northern ship and Caroline strongly swam towards it, closely followed by the dolphin. She grasped the end of the rope ladder and hoisted herself up. She started climbing the ladder, while the dolphin waited in the waters beneath the ladder.

As soon as she reached the top of the ladder, she was pulled into a very fierce manly hug by the Alpha. They both hugged each other hardly before the Alpha gathered her in his arms and twirled her in his arms. As soon as she left his embrace, Caroline slid onto one knee in front of the Alpha, placed both her hands on top of her hoisted knee and bowed her head. The Alpha announced called out something to his men, who all roared, the guards banging their spears against their shields.

Caroline then swiftly got onto her feet and whispered something to the Alpha, who nodded and said something to the man standing next to him. The man went down into the ship's interiors and soon returned with a large fish in his hands, which he gave, bowing respectfully, to Caroline. Caroline then walked upto the edge of the deck and threw the fish to the dolphin waiting below, which hungrily swallowed the fish whole. It then flipped once in the water, as if to say goodbye, and swan away into the endless ocean.

Then, the Alpha gave a long speech to his men, to which, the men reacted so enthusiastically that every water beast within five miles must have been irked.

* * *

Ester's breath caught when she saw the blonde man twirl Caroline in his arms. No, it couldn't be. Could it?

* * *

Niklaus watched as Caroline and the blonde man walked hand-in-hand to the edge of the deck and once again, threw themselves backwards into the sea. He watched as they both swam upto his ship. Niál threw down the rope ladder and seconds later, Caroline was standing on the deck, when all the men swarmed up to her and they all slid onto one knee around her, bowing to her.

A second later, the Alpha emerged from the rope ladder. Now that he was nearer, Klaus got a better look. He had a defined face. Blue eyes that shone like the sea on a sunny day, full lips and dimples, that currently showed as he stood there, watching his men pay homage to Caroline, pride evident in his features. His bare chest was surprisingly smooth and hairless. His hair flew out behind him, like a lion's mane in the gentle breeze. He grabbed onto a clean cloth that was hung on the ship's rails and wiped his torso dry.

When the men got up, the Alpha moved towards Caroline, stood by her side and announced to his men in a clear voice that held great authority, "Today, my daughter has once again proved her worth by riding one of the violent sea beasts. She has not only ridden into battle by our side, but has also accomplished many a feat in her years since she has started training. She has proved to us men that even _women _are capable of being as much as a warrior as a man or sometimes, as in case of my daughter, _better _than a man. My men, you and your kin and comrades have yourself, _willingly_, given my daughter the title 'Vigdís' and have given your approval to my decision of her being my Beta. And there is many a man present here who my daughter has led into battle, taking my place as the commander when I was dealing with other matters at hand back in our tribe-land. Now, I ask of you, my men, to give your approval of me making my Caroline, _your _Caroline Vigdís as my heir! She has proved herself worthy in _every _way and thus, I have made my decision. Your comrades and brothers on the other ship have already very enthusiastically agreed to my decision and I ask you, because every man should have a say in who his leader should be; do you think my decision is wise? **_Do you accept Caroline as your next Alpha_**?" he roared.

The answering roar was deafening. Even the men on the other ship started celebrating, knowing that their comrades had agreed to their Alpha's decision.

* * *

A giggling Caroline tugged the Alpha behind her to where Nik was standing as the celebrations still proceeded around them. "Father," she said to the Alpha. "This is Niklaus." She gestured to Nik. "He wants to learn our fighting and I said I would ask you." He looked at her questioningly and she nodded back at him, replying, "He can be trusted." The Alpha grinned and turned to look at Niklaus.

"As long as Caroline trusts you, so do I." Saying so, he leaned forward and hugged Niklaus. "Pray, what is your name, lad?"

"Niklaus, my lord." Nik answered. The Alpha's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that so?" he asked. "I think you should know that your name is very dear to me. It was my father's. Now Caroline here tells me that you want to learn to fight. Now I would like to meet your parents before deciding anything lad. May I have the pleasure of meeting the parents of such a fine young man?" he asked.

Nik nodded and led him and Caroline to where Mikeal and Ester were standing. "My lord, this is my father, Mikeal and this is my mother Ester. Mother, father, this is the Alpha of the Northern Tribe." Nik introduced them to each other.

The Alpha's eyes widened as he laid his eyes on Ester. He stiffened slightly, but only so that only Caroline could feel him stiffening because she held his hand in hers. The pregnant woman too, now stood transfixed. The Alpha inclined his head slightly towards Mikeal as acknowledgement and held out his hand for Ester, who placed her slightly trembling hand in his and bowed slightly. He brought her had to his lips and kissed it softly, murmuring, "It's nice to meet you Lady Ester." He let go of her hand and stepped back lightly, not leaving her gaze.

But only Caroline detected something wrong as the men celebrated around them.

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**_ Okay, I know you guys would have guessed who the man is! And to some of you, I wanted to clear your doubts. Caroline is not a goddess - 'Vigdís' is a title showing her bravery in battle, that's all. And I've got some tricks hidden up my sleeve! ;)_**

**_Think I want to introduce Elijah, Rebekah and Kol in the next chapter. I know that according to Rebekah, they were all born in Mystic Falls, but I decided to make a small change and make it such that only Henrick would be born in Mystic Falls!_**

**_Until next time..._**


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